doubled our territory by adding a country rich in material resources,
but gave us control of the Mississippi river, and made possible the
acquisition of the Oregon Territory, the Mexican cessions and the
annexation of Texas. ...

"Though much has been done towards the development of this imperial
domain, yet we may truly say that we have only seen the beginning of
that development. The possibilities for the future are boundless. With a
land of unparalleled resources, occupied by a people combining the best
elements of our modern civilization and governed by laws evolved from
the highest and best progress of the human race, no eye can foresee the
goal to which a co-operation of all these forces must lead."

The Mexican Commissioner, A. R. Nuncio, spoke in behalf of the foreign
exhibitors. The concluding address was made by Hon. William H. Taft,
Secretary of War, who attended as the special representative of the
President. At its conclusion the President of the United States, in the
White House at Washington, pressed a key that started the machinery,
unfurled the flags, set the cascades in motion, and thus opened the
Exposition.


BENEFICENT RESULTS

To the question "Was the Louisiana Purchase Exposition a success?" the
answer must be an unqualified affirmative. The value of any great
exposition cannot be measured in dollars and cents any more than it can
be measured in pounds and ounces. The great Fair at St. Louis was not
projected as a money-making undertaking. It was held to commemorate a
great event in American history and was designed to arouse a popular